Aerobic And Yoga Can Maintain A Healthy Body

Heart rate is a much discussed aspect of cardio vascular training, weight loss and fitness. I get a lot of questions about it as it pertains to fitness and weight loss. The questions covered here are some of the ones I hear frequently on the topic.

What is resting heart rate? Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you art at rest. As you become more fit, your resting heart rate will decrease. This is because a fit, healthy heart is strong and more efficient. Therefore it needs fewer beats to circulate the blood. A good number for this would be in the 70’s. Athletes others who are very fit can get it even lower.

What is max heart rate? This is the maximum beats per minute your heart is capable of beating. You can go to your doctor and request a stress test. This is a test in which they hook you up to various monitors and have you get your working harder by doing something that will put load on your cardio vascular system such as walking on a treadmill. Speed and/or incline are increase until you cannot continue. When calculating this number for an exercise program use the rule of thumb calculation: 220 – (your age) = (your maximum heart rate)

What is target heart rate? This is the range in which you want to get your beats per minute in order to increase cardio vascular fitness, burn calories and burn fat. For most fitness programs, target heart rate is the range between 60% and 80% of your max heart rate. Just multiply your maximum heart rate by.6 for the low end of the range and.8 for the high end.

What is interval training? Interval training is purposefully varying your heart beats per minute during a cardio session by varying the intensity, and therefore the level of exertion, at which you work. A sample interval training workout might go something like: 5 minute warm-up, 2 minutes moderate intensity, 30 seconds high intensity, repeat moderate and high intensity interval combination 10 times, cool down for 5 to 10 minutes. There are dozens of possible variations on this but, that is the basic idea. Interval training is a great way to burn more calories and fat and increase cardio vascular fitness more quickly than steady state cardio.

What is steady state cardio? Steady state is just like it sounds. You go at a fairly even pace throughout the duration of your cardio session. Steady state training is a good way to burn fat and calories and good to throw into the mix for a well rounded cardio program.

What is the RPE scale? RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. The RPE scale describes how you should be feeling at each level of exertion on the scale. The scale will either run from 6 to 20 or 0 to 10. Either way, the lower numbers represent less exertion with exertion levels increasing as the numbers increase on the scale. This is a method of determining your approximate the rate at which your heart is beating by assessing, based on some subjective guidelines, how hard you are working. It can be a good method to know if you do not have a heart rate monitor.

Certainly there is plenty more to know about heart rate and cardio vascular fitness but, these are some of the basics to help get you started.

Laura Lawson is a certified personal trainer who is dedicated to helping people to improve their quality of life through fitness. In addition to individual and small group personal training sessions she offers convenient and cost effective online training programs. Please visit http://www.besteverfitness.com to learn more.

If you’re an indoor cycling class participant, or maybe just getting back into a fitness groove, you may hear some new terminology being bantered around in your classes. The term is rate of perceived exertion, and it is a great way to measure your effort and activity level. Let’s examine how and why it works…

What Is Rate Of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

For years, fitness instructors and participants have struggled to come up with a relatively uniform method of measuring effort level. For example, when an instructor in your class tells you to work harder, what exactly does that mean? How can “harder” be measured? In truth, it really can’t. Further, each of us has different capacities for fitness. You may be able to run comfortably at seven miles per hour, while I struggle mightily to maintain a six mph pace. Conversely, what might be an intense workout for me may be the proverbial walk in the park for you.

To more or less even the playing field, the concept of rate of perceived exertion was introduced. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is used to gauge or measure how hard you’re working during a cardio workout. RPE is based on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the hardest. Your instructor will indicate a number, which you will translate to your own intensity level. The best way to measure your intensity level is your ability to chat with your neighbor during the workout. Here are explanations for each of the levels:

RPE 1-3: This is typically your warm up phase and the tail end of your cool down. You can converse very easily with no effort at all.

RPE 4: At this level, you are sufficiently warmed up but you can still converse with practically no effort.

RPE 5: You are beyond the warm up stage and into the actual work of your routine or class. You can still converse quite easily with only a small amount of effort.

RPE 6: This is the moderate level. You can talk but it requires some effort.

RPE 7: At this level, your effort level is getting more intense. You are able to converse but it requires quite a bit of effort.

RPE 8: The work is now difficult and conversation requires maximum effort.

RPE 9: Now you’re only able to get out one or two words at a time.

RPE 10: This is your absolute peak effort and your entire energy level is focused on the workout. Breathing is heavy and there’s no thought of talking.

RPE is most commonly used in indoor cycling classes, although it is also appropriate for treadmill classes. You will find that some instructors use a scale of one to five for RPE, basically sandwiching the levels together. But since our brains are trained to think on a scale of one to ten, this terminology is more common.

Understanding RPE is important because it allows you to tailor your workout according to your fitness level and individual capabilities. An instructor can’t tell participants to peddle or run at a specific speed because it may well be beyond the skill set of some students.

Rate of perceived exertion provides everyone a more standardized measurement of intensity level, similar to mile posts in a distance run. When you monitor your effort level with RPE, you are more likely to have enough left in the tank for the really difficult segments of your workout. Try to use the concept of RPE in your next group fitness class. You’ll notice a positive difference in your workouts!

Understanding rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is just one way to help you get the most from your cycling classes. If you liked this tip, we’ve got lots more for you! Visit us today at: http://www.indoorcyclingmarketplace.com

Most people want to get in better shape. Even if you are in fairly good shape, it is almost always possible to improve your overall body condition. Remember that it can be dangerous to start a new aerobic workout if you haven’t worked out in years. You should always check with your doctor to determine what level of activity you are fit for at this time. Your doctor can determine if there are any pre-existing conditions that will limit the amount of exercise you do. When you do decide to start an aerobic workout, it is best to consult with an expert that can help you get started.

Aerobic workouts are very important for your overall health. Daily exercise will improve your fitness level and heart function. It will also help you rev up your metabolism and lose weight. Aerobic exercise helps get your heart rate up, your breathing increases and your body will start to sweat. These are all good things! Aerobic exercise of any kind can be very difficult if you haven’t been exercising at all. Start slowly and build up gradually so that you don’t injure yourself or become discouraged.

If you are already is good shape, you may need to alter your workout in order to continue to benefit from it. Since the goal of aerobic exercise is to get your heart rate and breathing to elevate, you may have to push yourself even harder to accomplish this once you become accustomed to the level of exercise that you are doing. You will have to find new ways to push yourself. Let’s say that you are already running 5 or 6 miles a day. You may have to add hills to your regular routine or try to run faster than you normally do in order to get your heart rate up.

Try mixing things up a little. Join a gym and get into some of the more advance aerobic or cardio classes. If you don’t like going to the gym, there are a lot of great DVDs out there that you can try. Tae Bo by Billy Blanks offers some great exercises that will really get your heart rate going. You can also try the “Get Ripped 1,000 by Jari Love. There is something out there for every level of fitness. As you get in better shape, you can make most of these workouts harder by adding weights or bands. The variety will also help to alleviate boredom. Remember that the whole point is to challenge your body and get in better shape.

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Hi, my name is Debbie and I am passionate about animals. I have had dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, fish and horses in my life at some time or other. I currently have two poodles, a shi tzu, several finches and a cockatiel.

I write a variety of articles on animal care and weight loss. Check back often because I try to add at least one new article a week.

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